Page 85 of Reign of a Billionaire

Somehow it didn’t surprise me, but it still sent a pang through my heart. Not that I wanted to go back to that crazy bitch. It was more about the fact that I’d never experienced motherly affection.

“Then I must no longer be of use to her,” I said, glad that my voice didn’t portray my inner turmoil. I’d known for a long time my mother wasn’t a good person, but she was still my mother. Even that was barely enough to try to forget the years of torture and dangerous living conditions. She only defended me when it suited her needs, and that was impossible to ignore now. “My turn.”

I pondered how to phrase my question without having to bring up the horrors that haunted him.

“Why did… How did you end up with Ivan and…”My mother, I thought but couldn’t utter the word.

“My father fucked him over on a deal, and Ivan decided to go after my sister. He got me instead.”

He sounded detached, yet the meaning of his words ghosted a shiver down my spine. Just like me, he was a pawn in his parent’s fuckup.

I swallowed a lump in my throat. “I’m sorry.”

“How long have you been working for your mother?” He didn’t want apologies. He wanted answers.

I thought back to when she first started pulling me into her business, training me in her signature ruthless way. I couldn’t put a finger on exactly when it was, especially not with how unreliable my memory was. An ache resounded between my brows as I tried to remember, but with each probe into my memory bank, the pain intensified.

“A few years,” I finally answered.

Maybe he saw the struggle painted on my face or maybe he was just impatient, but he let my non-answer slide. “Ask your question now.”

“What’s the deal with the teeth?”

His expression remained unmoved. “It’s so I can keep track of the people I kill. Whenever I look at them, I’m reminded that my soul can’t be saved.”

I reared back in my chair, shocked at how easily the words rolled off his tongue. He genuinely believed he was tainted, undeserving of all the good in the world.

“Your soul doesn’t need saving, Kingston. You were achild.” My voice was barely a whisper as it hit the air and met his darkness. “Whatever we’ve done in this world, we did it to survive. It’s them”—all the ruthless and cruelublyudoksin the underworld—“who are beyond saving. Including my mother.”

He let out a sardonic breath. “When did your outlook on life become so upbeat and positive?”

I shrugged. “I need something to keep me going.”To get to those who’d held the faith of my sister in their hands, I didn’t say. “Your turn,” I said before I could veer too far toward the rabbit hole.

“What do you want with Perez?”

There it was. “I’m not answering that one.”

“You realize he’ll kill you,” he pointed out, as though the risk wasn’t the most obvious thing in the world.

“Not if I kill him first.”

He ran his hand across his jaw, pulling my gaze to his mouth. “I believe you mean that too.”

I lifted my gaze to his. “I do.”

“You won’t be able to kill him on your own.”

“I’ve done a lot of things on my own,” I declared proudly. “I only have myself to depend on.”

He ran his tongue across his teeth, deep in thought. “For a very long time, I believed so too. But I’m slowly learning I can let some people in. You will too.”

Frustration rose in me. Or maybe it was jealousy? It was hard to decipher. I’d never been very good at regulating my emotions. All I knew was that I used to have my sister, and now I had nobody. Mother kept me too close to her to allow me the chance to grow close to anyone. Each time I did, we were ripped away. Giovanni was the exception, but still, I couldn’t believe in it with the same conviction as Kingston. It seemed too good to be true.

“I’ll take your word for it.” Fuck, was it my turn or his to ask questions? This man rattled me down to my core, and it was starting to affect my ability to stay vigilant. Fuck it—I was just going to throw it out there. “When will you let me go?”

The silence was deafening as he stared and staredand staredat me.

“When your mother’s dead and no longer poses a threat to you.”